


warrior's birth

by TheEbonHawk



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic
Genre: Bisexual Character, F/M, First Meetings, Friendship, Jedi Training, Nonbinary Character, Pre-Canon, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-02-17 19:51:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13084179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEbonHawk/pseuds/TheEbonHawk





	1. Revan

Zhar Lestin was the man Alek would’ve had for his master, if he’d had a choice. Zhar was an accomplished duelist and an engaged teacher, and frankly, anyone would be better than Tavik. 

When Alek had attempted to get reassigned, it had been nothing but excuses. “Reassignment isn’t traditional”, “follow the will of the Force”, “you’ve done well this far.” Never mind that all of Alek’s success the last three years was completely his own, that his master had done nothing worthwhile for him throughout the whole of his apprenticeship. Now that he was sixteen, apparently, no one else wanted him as a padawan. So Tavik it was.

Well, maybe Alek had to be his apprentice, but he didn’t have to rely on him alone. If Zhar was willing to teach him, Alek would find a way to learn.

He hesitated at the door of the training room, probing to be sure Zhar was alone. He didn’t want to interrupt another student’s lessons, and frankly he didn’t want anyone to know how badly he needed them himself. Once he was satisfied that Zhar was alone, Alek entered the training room.

Zhar was sitting on the floor, legs crossed and eyes closed as he meditated. Knowing he shouldn’t interrupt, Alek lowered himself to the floor to wait. Ten minutes dragged by before Master Zhar opened his eyes and acknowledged him. “Alek. What can I do for you?”

Alek inclined his head as a gesture of respect. “Master Zhar. I’d like to request extra training in lightsaber combat.”

“Hmm.” Zhar touched his chin, frowning thoughtfully. “Has your master recommended this training, padawan?”

“My master is...invested in his other Padawan, Master.”

Zhar nodded - in his eyes, Alek could see he didn’t approve of the situation Tavik had put Alek in. At the same time, he had done nothing to rectify the situation. “All the same, have you asked him?”

Alek paused, pressing his lips together lightly and holding back a small sigh. “No, Master.”

“Then I request that you discuss this with him later. But I will give you a lesson today, if you wish.” Zhar stood, and gestured for Alek to do the same. “What is it you’re having trouble with?”

Alek frowned, hoping the flush he felt wasn’t showing on his face. “Form IV, Master. Master Tavik has gone over it with me, but I’m having difficulty with it.” 

The truth was that Tavik was  _ terrible  _ at teaching lightsaber combat, but Alek figured it best if he didn’t openly insult his master. Or imply that a Jedi Master could be bad at their job.

“Take your stance then, and weild your lightsaber.”

Zhar was in the process of demonstrating the form when Alek was distracted by another presence. He couldn’t help looking toward the source, and when he did he saw a petite, dark haired padawan in the doorway. She must’ve been a year or two younger than him, and her aura was...strange. Magnetic, but strange, and currently she seemed to be irritated about something.

And Alek recognized her, though he’d never spoken to her before - this was Revan, a quiet padawan, known for being the most irreverent, bold student at the Enclave. At the moment, she was very nearly  _ scowling  _ at Master Zhar, who had also stopped to regard her. 

“Revan,” the Jedi master greeted evenly. “You’re late.”

“So you start giving lessons to someone else?” She came into the room, standing beside Alek but only looking at Zhar. She was smiling now, as if teasing. “I didn’t realize you would replace me that easily.”

Zhar’s serious expression also became a smile. “Alek was here on time, Revan. And he needs my time more than you do.”

Alek did blush now, and Revan turned her head to look up at him, her eyes glittering with amusement. Alek bit down his frustration and relaxed from his combat stance. “My master is...busy,” Alek explained, trying to keep his annoyance from coloring his tone. 

“So you  _ are  _ talented?” 

Alek frowned at Revan. “I try.” He was too confused, off-balance to know how to answer, so he inserted a generic ‘good padawan’ script. “I think I’ve done well, with the aid of the Force and the instruction of my master.”

Revan narrowed her eyes, not impressed by the answer. Well, she wasn’t the Jedi Master here. She retracted her attention from him and looked again to Zhar. “Will you train both of us today, Master?”

“I am willing, but you are ahead of him. I was demonstrating Ataru.”

Revan smiled - it was only slight, but Alek resented it, resented the way he could practically hear her laughing at him. “That’s alright. Perhaps I could help him. Set an example.”

Force, did they have to talk about him as if he wasn’t in the room? Alek shifted his feet in discomfort and frowned. 

Zhar nodded thoughtfully. “You have a point, Revan. I know you focus better with competition. Perhaps Alek will, too.” He gestured to Alek. “Get into position, both of you.”

Revan removed her lightsaber from her belt, and they both moved their feet into the starting stance. She looked over at Alek, still smiling. “So, Alek? Are you the one they call Squint?”

If it were just them, Alek would’ve sighed, would have rolled his eyes, might’ve just walked away from her. As it was, he kept his reaction to a twitch of his lips and a resigned expression. “Yes,” he said flatly. “But I prefer Alek.”

She extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, Alek.” 

-

Revan turned out to be an asshole. 

Alek had come to Zhar to  _ learn,  _ but this girl had apparently come to show off. Or at least, now that Alek was here, that’s all she wanted to do. She did everything perfectly, and every time Alek did well, earning Zhar’s praise, she had to show him up. By the end of the lesson he was more than a little tired of her. 

She wasn’t done with him, though. She walked with him in the hall and tried to start up a conversation. “So, what’s the deal with your master? He doesn’t have time to teach you lightsaber forms?”

Alek sighed. He looked down at his feet as he continued walking down the hall. “He has another padawan,” he told her, his mouth resisting the words. 

“What, seriously?” Exactly. “That’s allowed?”

“Not usually, but he’s a stubborn old man, and the Council doesn’t like telling him ‘no’ apparently. He took me on, but then he found another hopeful he liked better the next year, so...”

“And he doesn’t have time for both of you?” 

Alek stopped in the hallway, turning toward her as she stopped, too, and leaned against the wall behind her. “He doesn’t like me. And he’s never been a good teacher.”

She frowned. Shook her head, as if she was personally invested in Alek’s stupid problems. “That’s a shame. You seem really talented.”

He laughed. “You can tell that from, what, watching me practise a form I should already know?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. Her concern seemed weirdly genuine, despite the apparent amusement she’d regarded him with earlier. “Alek, you’re a  _ really  _ quick learner. I just saw you go from stiff and uncertain to fluid understanding in under an hour. And the fact that you’re trying so hard to make up for your master’s failing counts for a lot.”

Alek frowned down at her, curious and suspicious. “You think you know me pretty well, don’t you.”

Revan shrugged. “Well, we have just met, but yes, I think I’ve got a pretty good idea. I can read people really well, and I can tell you’ve been reading me, too. And that you’re strong in the Force, especially for a padawan of our age.”

“You’re younger than me,” he protested.

Revan rolled her eyes and smiled. “See you later, Alek.” She pushed herself off the wall and he watched her walk away.

-

“Alek, you’re an  _ idiot. _ ”

Alek sighed and stepped back from her as she deactivated her lightsaber, pacing the mat with her perfectly uninjured hand cradled to her chest. He switched off his own saber as Zhar reprimanded Revan for her outburst. 

“You  _ must  _ control your anger, padawan.”

Revan shook her head, waving her other hand at Alek in an accusing gesture. “He nearly took my fingers off!”

“You nearly took my whole hand,” Alek muttered. A sharp look from Zhar almost made him regret it. 

“That wouldn’t have happened if  _ you  _ hadn’t messed everything up!” Some of Revan’s hair had fallen from her ponytail and into her face. Between that and her expression, she looked disheveled and wild. 

“Revan.” Zhar was trying very hard to be patient. “You need to take some time and meditate.” 

Revan gave a deep, angry sigh, which Zhar ignored as he continued. “And you two will not be sparring together again.”

As they left, Revan brushed past Alek without speaking, and Alek couldn’t be more relieved. 

-

“I want a rematch,” Revan said when she cornered Alek in the hall the next day. 

He wasn’t sure why he kept letting this tiny girl stop him in his tracks, but he sighed and gave in anyway. “Zhar said we shouldn’t spar again.”

Revan shook her head, her eyes half rolling in annoyance. “Zhar doesn’t control what we do outside of our lessons with him. And I want to spar with you again.”

Alek shook his head and passed her, heading out to the courtyard. He sat on the bench he usually occupied and pulled a holobook out of his bag. Unsurprisingly, she sat down beside him, as casually as if he’d invited her, as if they always did this. What was surprising what that he didn’t quite mind. 

“Why?” he asked her, even as he looked down at his book. “Why do you want to spar with me after how badly that went last time?”

“Well, it’s not really your fault. I think I was a bit too fast. But we can figure it out. And anyway, I’d welcome the competition.”

He snorted. “Competition isn’t Jedi-like.”

Revan smirked, tilting her head at him with challenge and curiosity in her eyes. “If Jedi do it, how is it not Jedi-like?”

Alek sighed and rubbed the top of his nose. “Is that the entire reason you keep bothering me? Competition?” 

“Yep! You can consider me a friend, though, if you’d like.” 

Alek gave a loud, surprised laugh. “You’re a pest, Revan. Stop leaning on my arm.”

Revan glared hotly and sat back up. “I wasn’t leaning on your arm! I was leaning around you.”

“Big difference.” 

“There is,” she insisted calmly.

Alek smiled and glanced across the courtyard. “What were you gawking at anyway?”

“Cute girl.” Revan pointed at a girl sitting on another bench across from them. “That’s Tilly Valeen. She’s kriffing adorable.”

The girl she’d indicated was a skinny, freckled blonde, swinging her legs gently as she talked with another padawan. 

Alek glanced at Revan. “So you think she’s cute. What about it? You’re not allowed to date her. Or do you break all the rules? Maybe just the ones you don’t like?”

Revan frowned. “That  _ would  _ be all the rules.”

Alek rolled his eyes and turned his attention to his book. He could feel Revan staring at him. 

“Will you do it?”

Alek turned a page. “No, and if you continue to bother me, I’ll tell your master.”

Revan groaned - she was making a show of it, but he could tell she genuinely didn’t want a lecture. “Fine.”

Alek gave her a fake smile and went back to his book. 

“I don’t know why this place is so full of cowards, though,” she added, standing.

Alek stiffened. Was he really going to allow her to bait him with such a petty insult? He looked up at her profile, marred with a bitter scowl. Yes, he was. He sighed again. “Well, if you’re going to force me to defend my honor, I hope I can give your pride a nice bruising in return.”

Revan glared at him, but then smiled. “Great. We’ll start tomorrow after class with Zhar.”

Alek peered up at her, irritated. “How do you know I don’t have anything better to do?” 

“I’m assuming,” she chirped, walking away. “See you tomorrow.”


	2. tomorrow

“Your stance is horrible.”

Alek kicked a rock at Revan’s knee. She cut through it with her lightsaber.

“Do you have to criticise me all the time?” Alek asked, indignant.

Revan just shrugged. “You don’t need to be so offended. It’s not your fault you have a horrible master.”

Alek glared down at the tall Dantooine grass in between him and Revan. It occurred to him then to ask something he’d been wondering, but he wasn’t sure what Revan’s reaction would be.

He looked up at her and quickly decided he was too curious to avoid possibly offending her. “Why do _you_ need extra training, Revan?”

Revan scoffed and began fiddling with her lightsaber hilt, gazing at it thoughtfully for a moment before very gently pressing the button to deactivate it and tossing it lightly in the air for her to catch. She continued doing this as she answered him. “I don’t need extra training. I want it. My master has taught me well, but she wants me to be a consular and I want to be a guardian. So she won’t teach me the combat forms I want to learn.”

Alek frowned. “But she let you make you lightsaber blue.”

Revan shook her head and grinned. “Nope. But I did anyway.”

Alek laughed. She was hardly believable. He’d never known a padawan like her.

He reactivated his lightsaber and resumed his stance. “Tell me how to do it then, if it bothers you.”

Revan gave a nod and ceased her game with the lightsaber to walk over to him. She used her foot to gently push each of his into place, then grabbed his wielding arm to adjust its position.

Alek glanced down at her curiously.

She smiled at him and removed her hands, moving back to her position and taking her own stance.

“Okay, so we need to work on your blocking, but if you can get that and your stance down, you’ll be doing pretty well. You’re a natural guardian, Alek. Just relax and listen to the Force.”

She activated her lightsaber.

Alek smirked. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were being nice to me.”

Revan rolled her eyes. “I can be nice when I want.” She feinted towards him, forcing him to block.

He blocked flawlessly, then followed by kicking her lightly in the torso, sending her backwards.

She flipped, using the momentum and landing on her feet. She grinned. “I was right. You’re getting better.”

-

Over the next few weeks, Revan and Alek trained together and with Zhar often.

They spent very little time together outside of that, and Alek almost never saw Revan around during any other part of the day. He began to think of her as a kind of phantom that only existed at certain times.

Exactly three weeks after they met, he saw her have trouble with a lesson for the first time.

She was sparring with Zhar, and she kept getting spooked by him and stepping back from the duel, losing her footing.

Alek had completed his spar already, but he felt as though he shouldn’t leave. It had become tradition to walk out with Revan and have some kind of conversation, if only ‘See you tomorrow’.

Revan was getting frustrated. She had begun to attack aggressively rather than defensively, and she was being reckless, not guarding herself properly or practicing enough care with her opponent. Alek could see Zhar becoming concerned.

“Calm yourself, padawan. You’re supposed to be fighting defensively.”

“You’re not giving me a chance!” Revan shouted. She took a truly alarming swing at Zhar, which he blocked, and then stepped away from the master and deactivated her lightsaber, eyes smoldering.

Without speaking to or acknowledging either Zhar or Alek, she stormed out.

Alek bowed quickly to Zhar and hurried after her.

Though he could tell she knew he was following, she ignored him and stalked down the hall into the courtyard.

He caught up with her as she was passing his favorite bench and he grabbed her, forcing her to sit down on the left side.

He sat beside her and stared at her, his hands gripping her arms. “Are you okay?”

Revan scoffed and nodded, but she wouldn’t look at him.

Alek sighed, not believing her for a second. “Then why did you freak out?”

Revan looked up at Alek, her brow furrowed. She looked disgusted, and confused. “Who do you think I am?”

Alek shrugged. “You’re Revan.”

Revan laughed derisively and glared off across the courtyard again.

Alek frowned. What could have possibly been wrong with that statement? “What?”

Revan shrugged. “I dunno, Alek. You always seemed surprised when I compliment you or make a joke or fail at something. It’s as if you have this preconceived notion in your head of what I’m like and don’t bother to correct it when you’re wrong.”

They were both silent for a moment, and Revan breathed through her nose in an irritated huff.

“I’m sorry?” Alek tried. He let go of her arms.

Revan looked at him for a moment, then gave him a slow, crooked grin. “You’d better be,” she teased, her voice soft and low.

Alek smiled and leaned close, brushed a loose lock of hair behind her ear as his eyes studied her. His blue-eyed gaze locked onto hers, intense, and he spoke even softer. “Then I am.”

Revan pulled away from him and stood up, turning to leave. “See you tomorrow, Alek.”

Alek frowned at her back, unsure why he felt so irritated and sad. “See you tomorrow.”


	3. better judgement

Alek closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He relaxed, releasing all the tension in his shoulders and connecting to the Force around him. Once he was centered, he opened his eyes and removed his lightsaber from his belt.

Revan was still meditating. She stood several feet away from him, breathing calmly, her eyes shut as the gentle breeze blew around her. Then, taking a final deep breath, she opened them and grabbed her own saber. “You ready?”

Alek nodded. “I’m winning this one. Again.”

She smiled, her eyes bright. “Really? I’m not going easy this time.”

“I told you,” he sighed, “You don’t have to go easy on me, I’m twice your size.”

“You are not!”

Alek laughed, enjoying her frustrated expression. Over the past month, he’d learned a few good ways to needle her and get back at her for that first class. She really wasn’t short for a fourteen year old, but she looked absolutely tiny compared to him. “You’re getting upset again. Losing focus.”

Revan sighed, forcing herself to relax again. She shifted her feet as her shoulders dropped tension. “I’m not upset,” she insisted, her voice calm again. “You’re just very annoying.”

“Mmmhm. You’re too easy to annoy.”

“You’re one to talk, Squint.” She switched on her lightsaber, meeting his light scowl with a grin. “Let’s get started, already.”

-

Revan got cocky.

  
Alek  _ never  _ got cocky - they were both smart, and Revan was a better duelist, but sometimes instead of paying attention to his every move and relying on the Force, she took a risk on the assumption that she could be quick enough to get past him.

Alek didn’t make that mistake. So when she got impatient and tried to use a Force push to imbalance him, he reacted quickly enough to direct it back at her as soon as she’d raised her hands. 

She stumbled back, and he stepped closer, summoning her saber to his hand. It flew from her loosened grip and he deactivated both of them, smiling as she caught her footing and stared at him in impressed silence. “I told you so.”

Revan frowned and shook her head. “Dammit.” But she nodded, and her frown shifted to a small smile. “Okay. I guess I shouldn’t underestimate you.”

“Well it wouldn’t be fair, since I haven’t underestimated you.”

“Mm. You do like to point out my relative size and strength. Does that not count?”

“No, because it’s accurate.” Alek held out his hand and offered her back her lightsaber.

Stepping closer, she took the saber, but instead of putting it on her belt she continued to hold it up beside his. “Look, I’ve been meaning to show you this. Look at the hilts. Have you ever noticed how similar they are?”

“What do you mean?” He held his hilt parallel to hers and studied them. 

She was right; apart from the lengths, they were alike. They had a very similar pattern of grooves near the opening, though some were deeper and wider on Alek’s. The shape and color of the hilts were very close. 

“You’re right. That’s...” he trailed off, not sure what to think.

“It’s interesting, isn’t it?” Revan replaced her lightsaber on her belt. 

Alek secured his saber too, and followed her when she sat down in the grass. “I think it might be a bit more than interesting. I’ve never seen two sabers that close before.”

Revan shrugged. “I have. It’s not terribly unusual, but it’s more typical in padawans who knew each other  _ before _ they made their lightsabers, or with padawans who take after their masters. Ultimately it just means we’re alike.”

Revan laid down and gazed into the clear, bright blue sky. Her elbow was really close to Alek’s knee, and he found himself looking down at her for a long moment. 

She ignored him, staring right past his head into the heavens, but eventually slid her eyes just slightly to the left, gazing back up at him curiously.

He blinked and sheepishly turned his gaze to the plains. He felt her eyes leave him, and she made no comment.

“I don’t think we’re that alike,” he said, after a long, slightly awkward silence.

Revan’s shrug caused an audible brush against the grass beneath her shoulders. “I’d say trust the Force. We don’t see the similarities yet, but they must be there.”

Alek rolled his eyes. For all he loved Force philosophy, he wasn’t sure how much influence it had on the details of life. Then again, he was inclined to trust Revan’s judgment, at least to some degree. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re right.”

Hearing no response, and feeling Revan go quiet, he looked over. Her eyes were gently closed and her breathing was slow, her sense rippling minutely as though with the vibrations of the world around and beneath her. 

_ Great,  _ Alek thought. The sun was setting, which meant curfew was soon, and he had no idea whether to stay or to go, to try and wake her or leave her be. Her expression was so calm; it would be wrong to wake her, he reasoned, feeling sure somehow that she didn't get enough rest. He decided to stay and meditate, hoping she’d wake up on her own before it got too late.

-

It was pitch black when he opened his eyes again, having been startled out of a blank meditation by being pushed over into the grass. His arm stung from nails dug sharply into his flesh, and the impact with the ground had almost certainly given him a bruise. 

He glared up at his assailant. 

She was a rough shape standing straight up in the dark, but her aura was sharp again. “You should have told me it was getting late, Alek! Or left; why are you still here?” She gestured wildly with her arms, the large sleeves of her robes flopping around with her movements and taking the edge off her tough act.

Alek stood and frowned at her. “I was going to meditate and let you rest, and I lost track of time. It’s no more my fault than yours.”

Revan’s eyebrows dipped sharply. “I thought you’d leave at  _ some  _ point! You’re going to get into trouble for curfew.”

Alek laughed once, irritated and confused by her attitude. “Why do you care?”

Revan scowled, then covered her face with her hands. “You must be the biggest idiot I’ve ever met.” She dropped her hands, which slapped the sides of her legs with the force of the movement. “Do you not care when you get someone in trouble, Alek? What, your master didn’t teach you basic empathy, either? Or how to not break curfew and then blame it on somebody else?” She shook her head impatiently and turned, storming off back towards the Enclave.

Alek stood there in the dark, watching her leave and listening to the chirps and croaks of the nightlife as the grass moved in waves across his ankles. When she was about two feet away, he decided to follow her.

She seemed to expect this, and led him around the side of the Enclave opposite them, sneaking in the shadows close to the outer walls. When she got to the wall she was looking for, she started feeling with her hands and examining it. Before too long, she found a large hole in the wall partially obscured by bushes. It would be a squeeze for her, and Alek wasn’t even sure he’d get through it at all, but it was probably their best route to sneak in.

Revan smirked. “Wizard, huh?”

Alek rolled his eyes.

Revan grinned wider and gestured towards the passage with her head. “Come on. Let’s get inside and get to my wing; it’s closer. I’ll let you sleep on the floor in my room.”

Alek felt exasperated. “I’ll get in more trouble if they find me there than if I’d missed curfew.”

“You  _ did  _ miss curfew, and they won’t find you. Come on.”

-

Alek rolled over on the floor, grimacing from the pain in his side. He’d never really got the whole ‘accepting your surroundings’ part of Jedi training, so he still had trouble sleeping from discomfort in situations like this. He would have to work on that. 

He looked up at Revan’s bed, for lack of much else to do. From where he was, all he could see was part of her hair and her stomach when it rose with her breath. She was deeply asleep, and had been almost from the moment she’d put her head down. 

Alek bit back his resentment. It wouldn’t be right to insist on taking her bed or part of it, even if she had trapped him in here - hells, the Jedi Masters would say it wasn’t right to stay in the first place. They’d probably also say to discontinue his association with Revan. 

But he didn’t think he would. Not for any particular reason beyond a gut feeling. He already felt tied to her, which was probably a bad thing, but with her he ignored his better judgment almost completely. In all honesty, he was wondering why. 

She shifted in her sleep and he quickly looked away from her, fearing she was waking due to sensing his attention. He rolled onto his back again and closed his eyes, trying for probably the fiftieth time to convince himself he was comfortable enough to sleep. When he heard crying, he tried to ignore it for a while, until he realised what it was. 

He sat up quickly, but nothing seemed to be harming Revan. She was curled up into a ball, her head pressed to her knees, and very softly crying. 

Alek was too surprised to react for a long moment. He hadn’t known Revan long, but if he were to know her for the rest of his life he would never expect to witness such intimate weakness.

Alek got up and sat on the edge of the bed beside her, lightly touching her shoulder. “Revan? Are you alright? Should I go get someone?”

Revan ignored him. She continued to cry.

Alek winced, having used the entirety of his plan already. “Revan? Revan, please, talk to me.”

She pulled her knees in tighter to her chest, pulling her arm almost entirely from Alek’s grip. 

Alek sighed. “Rev, please.”

Revan stiffened. Her crying stopped, and she was still for a moment. “Don’t call me that.”

Alek felt himself smile slightly. Wondered what objection she could possibly have to the nickname. “What, Rev?”

Revan sat up straight and pushed Alek off of her bed and onto the floor, where he landed with a loud bang. Which of course meant that the other padawans on this wing knew something wasn’t right, at the very least. 

Alek clambered to his feet and glared at her. “What the fuck, Revan?”

She looked at him with wet, angry eyes and gestured to the door. “Just get out. Go.”

Alek spread his arms in a helpless gesture. “If you kick me out, I’ll get caught, and we’ll both be in trouble.”

“I don’t care, Alek! Get out! Leave me alone.”

Alek made a sound akin to growling and grabbed his bag. He threw it over his shoulder and stormed out of the room, not bothering to close the door or make any attempt at stealth. Amazingly, he managed to make it all the way to his room without seeing anyone. Maybe he wouldn’t get in trouble after all. 

He almost didn’t care, either. 

-

The next day, Revan found him on his bench in the courtyard, now their usual place, and sat down next to him. “I had a nightmare, okay?” Her tone was hostile, as if he’d been interrogating her. 

She stared across the courtyard for a moment, then glared at him. “You’d better not tell anyone, or I won’t train with you any more.” She grabbed the holobook she’d brought with her and held it up, pretending to read it. 

Alek held back an angry retort and considered her. He probably shouldn’t press his luck, since she’d decided to continue being friends with him, but he was curious. “What was that about, anyway? About the nickname I called you?

Revan glared over the top of her book, but after a moment she sighed and bent her head, settling for muttering without making eye contact. “It was a nickname my parents used. Before the Jedi brought me here. Before  _ Vrook _ brought me here. From Coruscant.” 

Alek felt chastised. He shouldn’t have asked. “Oh.”

Revan met his eye again, glare back in full force. “You still can’t use it. Never again.”

Alek sighed deeply. “Well, I’ll see if I can refrain from calling you the cutest nickname ever.”

Revan stared at him for a moment. Then she smiled. “Alek. Is it okay if I consider you a friend?”

Alek blinked in undue surprise, then gave her a slight, fond smile. “Always.”


End file.
